User blog:TheIkranRider/Why GP Legend was REALLY canceled
Ever since I saw a video by TASproductions on his retrospective about the FoxBox/4Kids.TV, I had decided to make this blog post. We all know that GP Legend (both the anime and the GBA game) was released upon US shores at the same time on September 2004. It premiered on the FoxBox and to me, it was almost an instant hit. I was playing F-Zero GX during the summer of that year, and when I first heard about it as my younger siblings pointed it out on TV, it was only natural I decided to give it a gamble; it was actually during the first weekend during my junior year in HS. Despite the fact that Rick Wheeler was the main man, instead of Capt. Falcon, and the fact that it was in an alternate timeline for some reason, I quite enjoyed it from Lap 4 onward. I never saw the episode with Jack and Lisa, though. Then, when Christmas rolled around, I noticed it was starting from the beginning. In January 2005, we all saw a drastic change as the FoxBox was no more, and it became to transform as the abomination we all claim to hate, 4Kids.TV. This was after the fact they released Pokémon and Yugioh. This was after they decided to make the monstrosity dubs such as Sonic X and One Piece (which they refused to do since they knew it was too violent and not targeted for their audience; until they caved in and decided to do it in exchange for a package deal involving Dinosaur King). It was then that EVERYBODY knew that 4Kids became more greedy and corporate on the FoxBox's success, and all consumers began to label it as the satanic company for anime dubs. After seeing that video, I began to have a new perspective and agreed with their animosity towards it; the animation block we knew was dead forever. We missed the fun, creativity, and content to what the Box had to offer, and I heard the crossover, "Fight for the FoxBox," was a dark foreshadowing for its fate, even though I never saw it. So on January 2005, FoxBox became 4Kids and they were careless and callous to every license and everyone working there. And on March of that year, GP Legend was permanently removed from their timeslot, amongst others. I remember well that after I saw "Target Tanaka" again, there was no sneak peek of next week's episode. I grew worried, as if I didn't have enough to dread considering it was nearing that school day when I had to take a state standardized test in order to pass; I was a junior in HS and if I didn't get a high enough score, I couldn't graduate. Fortunately, I did, just barely, and I was looking forward to another episode. Unfortunately…my prayers have never been answered. Replaced by Winx Club, I knew that GP Legend vanished entirely. And that's what inspired me to write the 20-chapter story, "Ending it All." Since I saw that vid, I knew the whole truth. It wasn't just the fact that GP Legend was met with low ratings and remained the most underrated program I've ever seen. It was also the fault of 4Kids itself. When the FoxBox met it's demise in January, everything was falling apart, and F-Zero, along with other shows, joined in on the death of it. I will defend the FoxBox as well as GP Legend despite its known flaws, but I will NEVER, ever defend nor forgive the heinous company that was known as 4Kids. They had gotten worse as time went on, and they had it coming from the get-go; and I feel so sorry for the cast and crew that had to suffer. I now understand that 4Kids will be reputed as the devil of dubs. Cause if the FoxBox still existed, despite the notoriety, we may have seen more of the English dubs (perhaps all 51) for GP Legend. Let us hope that it will be brought back internationally and completed; I will always hold the memories of that close to my heart. Category:Blog posts Category:F-Zero: GP Legend